Cry Wolf
by bluejay
Summary: Dick is a witness to a crime. But no one wants to take the word of a child seriously.


Disclaimer: Dick Grayson, Lucius Fox, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth belong to DC. Steve Brent and Selo (their fanfic equivalents here and not the real persons) are mine.  
>Notes: This one actually came from that recent Batman ish that involved 'The Prodigy'. I thought there should be more to it and so, this is my attempt. A failed attempt T_T<p>

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><p>The fire was almost out by the time they reached the factory. Firemen were still rushing back and forth as factory workers watched.<p>

"Stay here, Dick." Bruce told him and went off to talk with the factory supers.

Dick looked up to the factory's upper windows. One of them still had flames licking outside, turning the white walls black. He remembered the fire hoops in Pop's, the ones that the lions and tigers jumped through. Sometimes, Bettina the pony rider would jump through those hoops herself, riding Sera.

One of the firemen came running, a long hose snaking behind him. The man aimed the hose at the window and the flames faded into smoke; white smoke that added to the large cloud hovering over the factory.

Dick glanced around, spotting his new guardian still talking with the group of supers. Only now one or two cops and firemen had joined them.

He sighed and tugged at his necktie. Alfred had tied it too tight again and it was pinching his throat the whole time. It was worse than the leotards he used to wear at Pop's. At least _those _didn't make him feel like he was being strangled. Not to mention his new shoes made his feet feel too stiff and heavy. He sighed again and looked back at his guardian.

There were two men standing by the wall.

A thick white wall surrounded the factory; it was to keep the workers in and strangers out, Bruce had told him. It was also to make sure there was only one entrance and exit so the guards can watch over who goes in and out - like at Pop's when people had to pay for their tickets to come and watch.

But the wall at the back of the factory was black with smoke now, and no one was supposed to stay there. It was even more suspicious because the exit gate was just a few steps away.

Dick frowned, watching the two men he saw talking to each other. Smoke blew out from the factory and covered them for a moment, but he was used to seeing through the smoke to watch for his cue; and while he didn't recognize the men, it was easy for him to see one of them was wearing a white worker's uniform while the other wore a suit like his and Bruce's.

They talked for a while before suit guy handed the worker guy an envelope. Even from the distance, Dick could see the worker's hands had been burned badly a long time ago. He'd seen scars like those when one of Pop's fire-eaters accidentally set the jugglers' trailer on fire. It spooked the nearby animals and almost caused a riot to happen. No one was hurt from the fire or the crazed animals but Dick remembered the fire eater had been released from his contract with Pop's once the accident was found out. He hadn't heard anything of Selo since.

"Looks like we'll have to cut the inspection short, chum." His guardian's voice rumbled over to him.

Dick looked up. Bruce was walking towards him like his shoes weren't pressing his feet, smiling like he didn't mind his tie squeezing his neck. Dick hated the suit. But the image of Selo rose in his head, and he remembered he had something important to tell Bruce.

"You didn't tell me Selo was working for you." He told his guardian.

Bruce frowned. "Selo?"

Dick pointed out the two men he'd spotted. But when Bruce looked to where he was pointing, the two men were gone. "Suit Guy and Selo. They were there a second ago."

"Maybe it was just a couple of firefighters." Bruce smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder and steering Dick towards the factory's gate. "Come on, how about we grab some lunch at Gino's?"

"But I know what I saw! And they're not firefighters..."

"Security will take care of it, don't worry." He gave a pleasant smile that barely reached his eyes. "I'll bet you're hungry."

They were at Wayne Towers this day. Dick had been at the very top of the Big Tent back at Pop's ever since he was small, but the view from Bruce's office beat Pop's by a mile.

"Dick, don't climb the railing." Bruce scolded him.

Dick stepped back from the fence where he had half climbed it for a better look at the city, dropped his gaze to the floor and mumbled, "Sorry."

His guardian's stern expression faded into a concerned smile. "Aren't you afraid that you might fall from that?"

Dick shook his head. "Been flying since I was little. I'm never scared of heights."

"Really." Bruce's large hand dropped on his head and started ruffling his hair. "You may not be scared, but I am. I don't want-"

"Mr. Wayne?" Laisha popped her head in, interrupting Bruce. "Mr. Brent and the others from Factory C are here."

Bruce smiled pleasantly. "Send them to conference room 4, Laisha, thanks. And is Lucius in his office?"

"Yes sir, since this morning."

"Good. Dick?"

Dick glanced up.

"You'll be staying with Lucius while I'm at this meeting. Behave while you're with him, alright?"

"Okay."

He followed his guardian out the balcony doors. He and Bruce had taken a short break by stepping out into the balcony and looking at Gotham. Dick loved the view. He'd never been so high before, and he'd never seen a city like this in his entire life.

To get to Lucius' office, he and Bruce had to pass by four conference rooms. Three of them were empty, but there were papers and plates scattered on the large table in the middle. The people using the rooms must have taken breaks too.

The fourth room was occupied. Dick peeked through the door's clear glass window and saw men in suits surrounding the large table. Some of them were standing around and talking, some were looking through papers on the table; none of them paid the door any mind. Dick was about to look away from the window when one of the men turned around...

And he found himself staring into the face of Suit Guy from the factory fire.

"Bruce!"

The tall businessman paused in his steps to look back at him and Dick pointed towards the conference room door. "That's the guy I saw the day of the fire! He was talking to Selo."

Bruce looked at him in confusion. Dick was about to explain about the two men he'd seen when the door opened. His excited voice must have attracted the attention of the men inside because the same man he pointed out had poked his head through the opening.

"What's going on- Oh! Good afternoon, Mr. Wayne."

"Steven." Bruce nodded at him then held out a hand to Dick. "Come on, chum. Lucius' office is just a couple of doors away."

"But..." Dick turned to Suit Guy, "You were talking to Selo, weren't you? During the fire?"

The man looked puzzled. " 'During the fire?' Oh, I was just asking Walter about the damage to our equipment. I wanted to know how soon we can resume production in Factory C."

Bruce frowned, stepping closer towards Dick. "But weren't you supposed to receive a report once the firefighters had left?"

"Oh yes, but I wanted to know as early as possible how long it will take before we can start making components again. For our uh," he coughed into his hand "...distributors, of course. They were worried they won't be receiving supplies until next month."

Bruce's frown deepened. "That's funny. I haven't received any reports about the distributors becoming concerned."

"We've been quick to reassure them, Mr. Wayne." Suit Guy smiled, but Dick knew he was lying. The man wouldn't look Bruce in the eye whenever he answered.

"What did you give Selo?" Dick demanded of Suit Guy.

" 'Selo?'" He asked, puzzled.

"Selo used to be a fire-eater at Pop's. He burned his hands once in an accident and almost got a lot of people hurt. I heard he never went back to fire-eating after that."

"I don't see what an old circus accident has to do with-"

"I saw you talking to Selo that day." Dick insisted. "I'd know his burned hands anywhere! You gave something to him in an envelope. What was it?"

Suit Guy tugged on the cuffs of his sleeves. "I have absolutely no idea what you mean. I was with Mr. Wayne the whole time, talking to the foremen and the supers." He gave a sheepish grin that looked real if only Dick didn't know he was lying. "Maybe you saw someone else in a suit and thought it was me?"

Dick shook his head. "I know what I saw. It wasn't some other guy, it was-"

"Richard." Bruce bent down and grabbed Dick's smaller hand. He gave Suit Guy a sincere smile as he started dragging Dick away, "Don't mind him, Steven. It's probably a case of mistaken identity. Come on, Richard. Let's just go see Lucius."

"But-!"

"_Now, _Richard."

Dick slumped and followed his new guardian out. But when he looked back, he spotted Mr. Brent smirking at him.

Lucius had taken a quick break when they reached the office, so the room was empty until they entered. At a push from Bruce, Dick went to sit in one of the armchairs by the large desk while his guardian took the other. They were now facing each other on opposite armchairs, with a large window at Bruce's back.

As soon as Dick settled, Bruce spoke up. "That was reckless, Dick."

"I know what I saw! I didn't mistake him for another _gadje_!"

"Dick!"

He shut his mouth at his guardian's scolding. He hadn't heard Bruce angry before and he didn't want to start now.

Dick dropped his gaze to the floor, his voice sullen. "Sorry."

Bruce sighed, laying a big hand on his shoulder. "Dick, you can't go around accusing people of wrongdoing."

"Why not? Because I don't have proof?"

"No," Bruce leaned closer, laying both hands on his shoulders so Dick had to look at him. "Because they could get angry and hurt you. I don't want to see you hurt, Dick."

Dick stared at him in surprise, expecting the man to lie about this. But Bruce was looking back at him with concern and Dick couldn't see any lie in the man's blue eyes. He gave the man a small smile. "I'm sorry, Bruce. I'll do better next time."

"I'm hoping there won't be a next time." Bruce mumbled, awkwardly patting his shoulders then leaned back on his seat.

Lucius returned in the next couple of seconds, apologizing to Bruce for the wait. He shook Dick's hand when his guardian introduced him, offering a few brain-teaser toys for Dick to play with while Bruce was in the meeting.

Hours passed as Dick got bored with the toys and looked through the handful of books in Lucius' office. He found a trivia book on the top shelf and climbed up to get it.

"Richard!"

Lucius' cry startled him and he dropped from the shelf, one foot twisting inwards as he landed. "Ow!"

"Richard! Are you alright?" The man rushed over.

Dick looked up at his concerned face, already trying to test his foot. "I'm okay. It's probably ... _ow_...just a sprained ankle."

"You shouldn't put weight on it." Lucius said, grabbing his elbow and guiding him to the office's small couch.

"It's nothing. I can still walk-!"

"Good thing I kept a first aid kit handy." Lucius rummaged through a desk drawer, ignoring Dick's protests. He went back to Dick when he found the kit, pulling out a roll of bandage. "You shouldn't be climbing things, Richard."

"I've climbed higher." Dick mumbled, waiting for the man to finish wrapping his ankle. "I just wanted to get a book."

"You should've asked first." Lucius' tone was hardly angry, more worried.

"Am I gonna be in trouble?" Dick asked softly.

The man looked at him with a patient smile. "Well, I can't say I know what Bruce is thinking..."

Dick's eyes widened in fear.

"...but I'll tell him what happened so he won't blow a fuse, alright?"

"Okay. Thanks, Mr. Fox."

"Call me Lucius."

Of course when Bruce came back, he almost dragged Dick to the company clinic to have his ankle checked. Thankfully, Lucius managed to calm him down as Dick protested that he 'knew how to take care of a sprained ankle' and that 'he'd had sprains dozens of times at Pop's' all the way through the corridors.

Despite his protests though, Bruce still thought Dick had to rest his ankle and so carried him all the way down to the ground floor.

"_I can still walk!_"

His screech brought all the secretaries' attention towards them but Bruce ignored it. Dick huffed and crossed his arms as his guardian walked to the front doors, never once losing his grip. One of the guards cheerfully opened the doors for them, and Bruce muttered a 'Thanks' as the two of them went through.

Alfred was waiting outside, one hand already reaching for the limo's door handle when someone hurried past in between them and the car.

The man's face was visible for only a second, but a second was all it took.

Dick froze the moment he recognized the face. Bruce had already climbed into the limo with him before Dick could grab his guardian's arm and pointed.

"It's that guy!" Dick exclaimed. "He's the one I saw talking to Mr. Brent."

"Where?" Bruce followed his pointing finger. The man was now rushing past a cafe but it was still obvious who Dick was talking about as the man was the only one hurrying through the street. "The one with the cowboy hat?"

Dick nodded vigorously.

"I see." Bruce watched the man for a second or two before turning back to Dick. "Don't worry about it. If he really _is_ a criminal, Batman will get him."

There was a red-headed boy in his dreams. Townies were surrounding him, punching and kicking, calling him names. And Dick was there, hiding in the big pipe, just watching. He probably should help the boy but he couldn't move. All he could do was watch as they kept beating the boy until their fists were bloody and the boy wasn't moving and still they punched and kicked and -

He heard the rustling of curtains being drawn and the sunlight that streamed in burned his eyelids. Dick shifted on the bed to get away from the brightness.

"Good morning, Master Dick. Slept well?" Alfred was suddenly at his side, pulling the blankets away.

Dick groaned and sat, tried to rub sleep from his eyes. "I think I had a nightmare."

"I find that nightmares become less frightening if you talk about them."

He thought about it but shook his head. "No, I can't remember what it was about."

"Very good, sir. Oh, Master Bruce is awake and waiting for you downstairs. Breakfast will be served in fifteen minutes."

"Bruce?" He shot straight up then jumped off the bed, fully awake and alert. He sped through his morning rituals before rushing downstairs to the huge dining room. He and his parents always had breakfast together, and when Bruce came to take care of him, he was glad the man was willing to do the same.

"Alfred said you had a nightmare?" Bruce asked him as soon as he arrived.

Dick nodded absently, climbing up to his seat on Bruce's right. "But I don't remember it anymore."

"If you get scared..."

"I'll wake you up, I know." Dick smiled at his new guardian. "Thanks, Bruce."

"Anytime." The man folded out his newspaper as Alfred set out their plates.

In between bites of his French toast, an article caught his eye.

_Wayne AVP arrested for arson._

His eyes widened. "Bruce?"

"Hm?" The man looked at him, then shifted the newspaper so he could see what Dick was looking at. "Oh, yes. Batman caught the guy in the cowboy hat. He had a lot of plasticine in his apartment. When police arrested him, he confessed that Brent hired him to burn down the factory."

"But...why would he want to burn it?"

"He was hiding something illegal in the storage area. When I said I was going to do an inspection, he got nervous." Bruce shrugged and gave Dick a proud grin. "You did good, Dick."

Dick beamed. "Thanks, Bruce."

END


End file.
